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March 23, 2009

As the Worm Turns

Steven R. Berryman

Last week marked a watershed in the recent history of our newly transforming “Obamanation.” The anecdotal evidence was everywhere, although highly disparate, that what had once been hope, born of its own sake, was being replaced by a more healthy skepticism.

The market spent some time up, and housing sales gave us a good surprise, presidential capital was way off.

As a “Right of Center Republican,” I have a vested interest in seeing the worm turn on this narcissistic presidency; certainly Barack Obama is a nice guy, but even stoic columnists such as The Washington Post’s David S. Broder are now watching, and evaluating, and asking: Is this man in over his head?

President Obama is a great talker, and may have run one of the most strategically brilliant campaigns of all time. I’ll give him that.

But now that the campaign is over, the man now has a “day job,” but is most reluctant to give up that campaign. The needful seeking of adulation means that the White House is abandoned most weekends now. In search of basketball games, late night talk shows, and then off to Camp David, when there’s “nothin’ happening…”

…Only to return to his new home in Washington, a small town he seems reluctant to embrace, to use the presidential bowling alley. Upon bowling a 129, which any Pennsylvanian can tell you is beginner stuff, he quipped that it was like the Special Olympics…in here.

Now you understand the addiction to that glass reading screen, the teleprompter!

The off-the-cuff remarks can give a scary look inside of the mind, as Freud might comment.

David Letterman and Jay Leno have seen it recently: When asked a softball question about finally choosing the presidential pet, a dog, Mr. Obama mentioned that getting one had “only been a campaign promise…”

Rush Limbaugh has taken the now famous teleprompter addiction to the most amazing heights. He is convinced that it is the personified teleprompter itself that gives our president his marching orders! Such creativity! See www.baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com.

This was evidenced as President Obama read the wrong scripted comment the other day and got minutes into his speechifying before he found that he was thanking himself…as he was mis-cued to the wrong script and had not even noticed.

And, boy, did he miss that teleprompter’s advice when seeking public relations advice about doing NCAA Basketball tourney picks for ESPN:

Time that could have been spent helping in the confirmation process of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s underlings – instead of only providing him cover. Also, sorting out the AIG bonuses and the “who knew what when” could have been a productive use. Same postscript.

And bless the mainstream media for turning on the Obama overture to Iran, made by Internet Video, as opposed to nice-diplomacy. Seems the Iranians were none too impressed, feared us a little bit less as a consequence, and proceeded to block BHO@Pres.gov from their e-mail lists.

Then Bloomberg.com turned on Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., CT). After his initial “no no no no” comments concerning altering the AIG bailout deals with contracted bonuses, dates and denials changed at least three times. Then he passed the buck up the chain to Treasury, and then to Secretary Geithner, and then – very presumably – to “buck stops here” Barack Obama. See: www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aT_tMXRy2vDs&refer=us

Such righteous indignation should not go un-rewarded!

So they’ve booked Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire to play again on a weekday…presumably after work.

And Michelle Obama toils in her new vegetable garden “out back the White House.” This must symbolize the coming frugality and harkens-back to the old “VictoryGardens” of our father’s wars.

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